The Darkness Rises
by Lasciel
Summary: A YGO, 13 Ghosts, and Eternal Darkness x-over. CHAPTER 1 and the prelude are both up! The Ocularis is being built in an alternate universe Yugioh World... I hope this uploaded right... Please R&R NO FLAMES
1. Intro

This is my newest story yet, and most likely going to take a long time to write. There are going to be a lot of OC's throughout it, but very little if any romance. And any will most likely be either Shounen-ai or be forced by brainwashing. It's going to be majorly AU, once things advance. This is only an opening; the little bit that I made while writing the real chapter one. This is somewhat a x-over of Yugioh and 13 Ghosts, as well as Eternal Darkness and a few other things that will come up as the story is written. Though this story doesn't closely follow the events of any particular show, things will make more sense later on, with that, this takes place after Battle City but before the Egyptian Arc, as I don't know what happened there, therefore I don't want to display any inaccurate information. In relation to 13 ghosts, the movie itself never happened, same with most of the events of Eternal Darkness. Yet again, this is AU, so things won't be very accurate to start with. One more thing, Seto's parents' deaths are slightly altered, his father was killed in a drive-by and his mother died in a fire which nearly claimed Mokuba and Seto as well. Gozaburo and those events still remain as normal. Read on.

* * *

Time: Unknown

Place: N/A

Date: End of the universe

A grain of sand, a grain of sand, the entire universe for a grain of sand. That's how things seem, as of late. Why so? Listen, and learn, my young friend, of a device called the Ocularis' (though throughout time it has also been referred to as the Apocalypse Machine', the Unholy Spirit Device', Gate of the Dark God', or The Eye of Hell') the Tome of Eternal Darkness, the Three Ancients, the Black Zodiac, and the events within Domino City. 

The Ocularis was designed by the Devil and to be powered by the dead, it requires 12 spirits to work. The First Born Son, the Torso, The Bound Woman, the Withered Lover, The Torn Prince, The Angry Princess, the Witch, the Great Child and the Dire Mother, The Hammer, the Jackal, and the Juggernaut. The 12 signs of the Black Zodiac, all needed to run the machine. When the machine was run, it was told to be able to see into the past, present, and future. If knowledge were power, whoever possessed the Ocularis and could make it work would be the most powerful person on earth. Now that you know of the Ocularis, let me tell you the fate of the other power, the ancients.

The three ancients, Xel'lototh, Ulyaoth, and Chattur'gha have been fighting and trying to outdo each other for centuries. What does this have to do with the Ocularis? A lot, my friends, more then you mortals could comprehend. The Tome of Eternal Darkness had been found by one particular lot, a group of friends, consisting of Yugi, Anzu, Joey, Ryou, Malik, and Honda, as well as the spirit Yami. The few knew nothing of the book's powers, and began to read. The darkness trapped within the book infested the items owned by those in the group, the millennium ring and eye owned by Ryou, the puzzle and tauk by Yugi, and the rod by Malik. Two of the items had spirits, yamis, encased within gold prisons for hundreds of years. Bakura, Marik, and Yami, the three, bitter enemies until the end. The book possessed the three, the Ancients calling to them through the book. Chattur'gha possessed Mariku, the violence and hatred towards the pharaoh being enhanced by the god's presence. Xel'lototh infested Bakura, the madness within him from being trapped within the item, time that could have been spent roaming the plains ransacking tombs at will, spent locked up for hundreds of years, the madness created by that intensified and magnified by the god's influence. Ulyaoth desired the power of the puzzle, but the pharaoh's will was too strong. So he tempted the spirit, with gifts of power, riches, anything he desired. The spirit resisted, and was soon killed. The hikari, Yugi, became a direct link between the spirit realm where the ancients laid, and the true realm, where everyone existed. Yugi without the protection of his yami was soon possessed by Ulyaoth. He stole the tome, and disappeared. His friends searched for him for weeks, and soon enough Ryou disappeared as well. Within days of Ryou's absence, Malik was not to be found either. Grandpa had begun to do research, and nearly discovered the truth. Soon enough, Solomon's destroyed body was found in the game shop. There was no head. He was only marked as whom he was by his grandson's friends, due the puzzle found with him (the puzzle had been found a few days after Yugi's disappearance, Grandpa kept it in the case that Yugi came back or was found). 

Deaths throughout Domino were soon common, thought to have been done by a serial murder. 11 deaths in total, so far. The first, a young boy, no older then 10 had been killed violently, found with a gunshot wound through his head. The second death, a man brutally slaughtered his limbs and head cut from his body, scattered miles apart, only DNA testing confirmed the parts were from the same person. The third, a old woman, at least 80 years, found bound in duct-tape and hung by the same substance. The fourth, Otogi Ryuji, senior in Domino High and creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters, killed in a spat with a few remaining members of the disbanded' rare hunters. The fifth, Mai Valentine, deemed a suicide, found covered in slashes, police still skeptical about the ruling of suicide, as she had no history of any depression or masochism. The sixth, a tourist, Alex Roivas, the original possessor of the Tomb of Eternal Darkness killed by a lethal dosage cyanide. The seventh and eighth, a mother and son both found dead, the mother killed by being drowned in a bathtub, the massive son died of cyanide poising, similar to the tourist. The ninth was a smelter, who lived in the industrial region of the city, killed by being skewered to death by the railroad spikes he created. The tenth was a convict, in the correctional facilities on the outskirts of the city, barely in city limits, who died in a brutal beating. And the final and eleventh death was a sadistic scrap yard owner, shot with a shotgun multiple times in the chest. Eleven killings only deemed as serial due to the time between the murders, just mere days. Besides that, no links save the cyanide used in both the killing of the great child and the killing of the witch. 

Eleven killings, the tome of eternal darkness, ancients, soon enough the final peace came into play. Mysteriously and without reason the Kaiba Corp site was hijacked and replaced with just one image, a gigantic blueprint for an odd machine. Despite how the CEO, Seto Kaiba, replaced the site, changed the URL, updated the security, the site kept becoming hacked and changed to that image. However, as soon as the hacking surfaced, it disappeared, the site being left alone. Why? Mokuba, playing in Seto's home office printed the image. The site was instantly restored to its original state; all copies of the image file worldwide deleted. In exactly 13 days after the image was printed, Mokuba was reported missing, kidnapped or run away. The final peace in the puzzle.

Oddly enough, instead of making more sense like logic say things would, that merely made things more complex. Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and Mokuba were all missing. 11 people were killed within days of each other. A mysterious book was found that spoke of ancients, blood, and violence. And to top things off, mysterious plans for a machine that had cataclysmic powers. It's a shame the humans couldn't figure out things sooner. A grain of sand, a grain of sand, the entire universe for a grain of sand. Do things make more sense? I thought so, things merely make less. So read more; read of the tale of the fall of the light and the rise of the dark, the forthcoming of the chaos, the destruction of order, the creation and rebirth of the Ocularis Infernum.

* * *

1161 words, not including the OOC part at the beginning or this, the prelude/prologue was 1149 words and took me a few hours to write. So short, yet so much time. Well, I promise you that the other chapters will be much, much better, I know this one didn't make much sense. Please read and review so I'll know if I should write any more. Thanks in advance and NO FLAMES please.

~ Liz


	2. October 13th, 2008

First things first. STOP SENDING ME THE E-MAIL PETENTION PROTESTING THE REMOVIAL OF LEMON FICS, I GOT IT ALREADY AND PASSED IT ON! Thank you. Pray, let these rumors of the ban of lemons be false, for the sake of fictions site-wide. There are also slight changes to some show characters. Ryou and Bakura get ALONG with ease, Pegasus never stole Mokuba's soul, or Seto's. The two were just locked up. Joey and Otogi never made friends, too. Seto has very strong magick powers in his blood, the ability to read and use the Tome of eternal darkness. And Liz is a prodigy in acrobatics, has some slight ESP and magick powers (she's Drakken's cousin, and the powers are VERY faint), and can too use the tome, as well as Tiriana. Tiriana is a detective for the precinct that monitors Yugi and Seto's part of Domino, and works in the same agency as Liz. Little does Liz know that Tiriana is Drakken's mysterious' fiancé, and little does Tiriana know that Liz is Drakken's little cousin, who is working on the Mokuba Kaiba case just like one of her associates is. Drakken is a known physic and can link with people and stuff like that guy from 13 ghosts. Mokuba has a special ability, he can see the ghosts and communicate with them without the glasses, and he is a fluent speaker of Latin. Seto, despite the genius he is has trouble with languages as well as the spells. Drakken is Tiriana's fiancé. Michael is Liz's younger brother, and is the only one in the group who can NOT use the tome. Like Mokuba, he can see the ghosts without the glasses. Now, onto the story

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, any of the characters from Yugioh, 13 Ghosts, any of the characters or concepts from 13 Ghosts, or Eternal Darkness and it's characters. I merely own my OC's, and my friends own theirs. Thank you for your time.

* * *

Time: 3:33 AM

Place: Unknown

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Wha?" The raven-haired teen looked around the new place he was in, rubbing his head. He had just woken up, from what, unknown. "What happened? Where am I?" He questioned to no one in particular. Intense green eyes, almost emerald but not quite, scanned the room. Slightly blue translucent glass with Latin inscribing on it encased him. He ran up to the glass, banging on it. A ripple of energy was sent through him, as the words glowed. He jumped back, finding his reflection in another such pane of glass. He looked normal enough, still dressed in his Domino High School uniform, hair neat, dice pendent on. But something wasn't right. "Hello?" Otogi yelled. "Can anyone hear me? I'm trapped, I kinda need help!" He yelled, banging on the glass. Again he jumped back as light danced before his eyes. He caught his reflection in the glass again, and being the egotist he was, stopped to study himself. That's when he noticed it, through his chest, a clean knife-mark. And a slash across his neck, the wound still there, yet not bleeding as if it should. There was blood, but it seemed to have long dried. There were some slight further injuries, but they seemed to be post-mortem. "Am I dead?" He questioned, looking worried. Ryujii looked stricken, and began to pound against the glass ignoring the sparks and the energy that flew.

Time: 4:45 AM

Place: The Ryuu Residence

Date: October13th, 2008 (1)

Tiriana Ryuu paced around the room, contemplating the situation at hand. It had been a few months since the killing spree in Domino. Not even a whisper of the case had been spoken, no more deaths, no related cases. There was one copycat, but he was apprehended trying to kill Seto Kaiba, wealthy CEO of Kaibacorp. After that, not even a squeak of the case. It had been closed, the deaths deemed unrelated. Tiriana being the detective she was, and being the obsessive person she was born, just couldn't give up. The past six weeks or so she had been researching anything and everything on the case.

_DING-DONG!_ The doorbell rang. She moaned, getting up from the computer she had been sitting at for the past few hours and walked over to the door. The girl took caution not to step on the clothes she had messily strewn about. As of late she took little time to eat, sleep, or even do laundry not wanting to waste any time from the case. 

"One small cheese pie, that'll be— " Before the delivery person could finish, Tiriana hastily stuffed a small amount of crumpled bills in his hand, and closed the door.

"Keep the change" She muttered, placing the pizza in the kitchen and going back to work. It sat there, atop the other five of six pies from the previous nights that she hadn't eaten, or only nibbled at. The only reason she bothered was so her boss wouldn't fire her (having a detective driven to anorexia by a case didn't look good for the precinct), and because her fiancé refused to leave her alone until she got some food into her system. So she ordered the pizzas, and about once a week a day before people showed up she'd dump the pies and just save the boxes as proof that she ate. Day by day, she looked gaunter then before.

_You got mail_ Spoke the computerized AOL voice, as she logged on. Within the past few days, she ran into a wall, right back where she began with no new leads. Hoping it'd be something; she clicked open her inbox.

"Ads, ads, ads, ads for porn, ads What's this? No sender, an attachment. Save to disk, I'll scan it in the morning" She saved the attachment from the odd blank e-mail on a floppy, setting it on her desk. Glancing at the clock, she realized the time and walked into her room, falling down on the bed, asleep, not even bothering to change clothes. 

Time: 4:55 AM

Location: The Kaiba Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Seto, ya gotta get some sleep some time or another!" Liz spoke, poking Seto in the shoulder. The elder Kaiba brother looked up from the laptop he had been typing on for the past 12 hours. Liz was a somewhat new addition to the household, from the same precinct as Tiriana she was sent to investigate the kidnapping of Mokuba Kaiba, and had swiftly became good friends with Kaiba, understanding his pain from the loss of his brother, having suffered a same fate a long time back. Not to be mistaken, however, for a girlfriend, the two were merely good friends, nothing more, nothing less.

"I have to find more info. I think I might have a lead." He growled, as Liz backed up. He went back to typing, as Liz snuck around the back of the laptop and

_SLAM!_ She slammed the laptop shut and pressed the power button, shutting it down instantaneously. Seto glared daggers into her, resisting the urge to kill her and make her a new ghost for the Ocularis. 

"I was WORKING with that laptop!" He yelled, as Liz grabbed the machine and held it high up past her head. Few people were taller then Kaiba, Liz was one of those very few. Unfortunately for Seto, the device was out of reach due to her sheer height, and the fact that she was now standing on the table he was working on.

"No laptop until you get some sleep!" She said, wagging her finger like his mother or something like that. He merely scowled.

"Give me that back now or else." Seto threatened. Before any damage could be done, something from downstairs distracted them both.

_DING-DONG!_ The doorbell for the main door rung downstairs. Liz, finding a reason to escape the room jumped off the table and sliding down the banister, landing at the first floor. Seto once tried the same maneuver, just so Liz would get off his case about him being a chicken. Let's say this: we're still curious if he'll be able to have children after that particular experiment.

"I got it!" She yelled from downstairs, opening the door. No one was there, like in those creepy movies when there's only a package at the door. And alas, there was merely a book-shaped package there, a very creepy looking book-shaped package. She picked it up, and walked back inside, closing the door. "You got mail!" She said, imitating the AOL voice, as Seto waltzed down the stairs. He snatched the laptop from her.

"Thank you, now go upstairs." He ordered. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're not my mother, you can't make me!" Liz taunted whilst unwrapping the book. It was bound with human skin and decorated with shrunken bones. "Holy encyclopedias, Batman!" She mocked, speaking to no one in particular. "Freakish, I wonder what it has inside" The girl trailed off, reaching to open the book—

"Read it in the morning, you need to get some sleep. You have been up just as long as I have, and I'll promise I'll get some sleep if you will just go upstairs and stop torturing me." Liz nodded, dashing off upstairs. Seto looked at the book, then walked upstairs too.

Time: 5 AM

Location: The Wheeler residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Shit" Swore Joey, lying awake in his bed. It was most likely the twentieth time he had awoken, all due to the same nightmare. It started as a dream; Mai was still alive, Yugi, Malik, and Ryou all came back. Otogi returned (weather dream or nightmare, this, no one knew), and Mokuba was found alive and all right. But then came the nightmare. They dragged him to a junkyard, putting him in a glass box as bait' for a ghost. He couldn't move, somehow he was bound in the box. There was a creature', viciously murdered, gunshot wounds through his chest. His skin was ghost-gray, and had a dark demeanor. Things began to fly, people being killed by thrown cars and things of the sort. Then the ghost turned on him, and ran into the box and began to choke him and beat him up with unleaded viciousness. Then, suddenly he could move, and try to escape. But then

_SLAM_ the doors shut to the glass compartment, and he woke up. When Joey would awake, he couldn't remember most of the dream, just the fact that it was horrific.

"If I don't get any sleep I won't due well on that big test tomorrow Not like it'll matter, I always manage to mess up on the tests anyway Stupid goddam science class" He swore, walking to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on his face, he repeated the action a few times, then going back to bed. Within the next 20 minutes or so, he awoke again and the cycle started over.

Time: 6:30 AM

Location: Unknown

Date: October 13th, 2008

"_Lemures vos ne excedo haec paries"_ Read Otogi, tracing over the wording on the wall. At the spoken words the wall itself glowed with radiance, then was dull again. He tried passing, and again failed. "Latin" He whispered to himself, the odd writing must have something to do with this. The question was: what?

Time: 7:13 AM

Location: The Kaiba Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

_BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!_ The shrill high-pitched buzz of the alarm clock pierced through the silence of the morning. Rays of light poured through the window, landing sprawled out at the foot of the large bed. Pale blue, nearly white, slightly metallic comforter was tangled among human flesh and bone. White sheets, and a white bedspread, along with pillows of the same shade of blue. Three statues sat situated around the bed, all three Blue Eyes White Dragons, one at the very foot of the bed, and one at either side, both serving as night tables. Seto gave a moan, hitting the alarm clock sending it flying across the room. 

_BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!_ The annoyance still kept up; Mokuba before his kidnapping had replaced Seto's alarm clock about a year back, so you couldn't just hit it and go back to sleep. You needed to turn the dial to off', as Seto had a nasty habit of just slapping it into submission and rolling over to go back to sleep. He would oversleep from staying up all night then work it off at night to make up for lost time You get the idea. Well, becoming frustrated, he stood up, promptly falling down again in the bed due to the fact that he was tangled hopelessly in the sheets. Taking a good 5 minutes to free himself, he finally made his way over to the offending device and promptly turned it off, then sent it flying out the open window.

"Open window?" Seto questioned to himself. "In the middle of October, I wouldn't have opened it, so how"

"GOODMORNING!" Yelled Liz, standing at the other side of the room. Seto glared, he was NOT a morning person. Liz held a tray of food and coffee; Seto smirked at the mug of the black-ish brown stuff. Addicted to caffeine, was the CEO.

"How'd you get in here?" The elder Kaiba brother grumbled. Liz smirked, walking over to the window. "I remember locking the door" He jiggled, the handle, it was still locked.

"I went in through the window. You locked the door, but breakfast was getting cold waiting for you. Therefore, I brought breakfast up to you!" Seto gave a sigh.

"And how'd you scale the house with a tray of food?" He replied, raising an eyebrow at the amazing' acrobatic feat.

"Seto, I think **you** of all people would know about my acrobatic skills, don't question me! I have my ways" Liz added with a smirk, eyes flickering to violet from gold-green for a few moments, then back to their usual gold-green. "You have to eat, you have school today!" She yipped; before Seto was up she was up, making breakfast, and engorging herself on the sugar in the pantry. The teachers would have to face torture today. 

"Fine, fine Just go, I gotta change." Liz unlocked the door, then left, sliding down the banister to the first floor and went back into the kitchen, to finish her breakfast, sugar-coated sugar lumps sprinkled with extra sugar and some chocolate milk with sugar added and powdered sugar sprinkled on some syrup-drowned cinnamon-sugar French toast. A lot of torture, today. Gulping down all the sugar and food, she dashed back upstairs into the guest room she was staying in, and had been staying in for at least two months. More like a bedroom then a guestroom by now. Seto hurried down the stairs, dumping the tray passing the kitchen, suitcase and school supplies at arms.

"Let's go, we're going to be late, oh no what are we ever to do" Spoke Seto dully, hurrying out the door. Liz dumped her stuff in the sink; someone else would take care of it later. Detective work was only a part time job, although she already had a degree in law (online collage, faked her age and got a degree, for the sole purpose of trying to get away with it (2)) she still went to high school.

Time: 8:20 AM

Date: October 13th, 2008

Location: Domino High

"Hey Kaiba!" Yelled Anzu, waving. Seto simply ignored her, as Liz trailed him as if she was a little duckling. Actually, she was very similar to a little duckling, considering that she had found her duck billed' hat and was acting like a 3-year old just for the sole purpose of tormenting Seto.

"Look, Seto's got a little duckling! Who's the mutt now, eh?" Joey teased. Seto merely glared, as Liz still kept up following silently.

"How does having an idiot follow me around make me a mutt, chiwawa?" Questioned Seto, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh" Joey was dumbstruck. Seto merely gave his usual dark laugh, not even bothering to turn around to face his enemy.

"Thought so." Merely spoke Seto. Liz gave a quack' sound, like a duck-ish laugh, and followed Seto as he walked into the building. Anzu merely shook her head sadly.

"I'm beginning to believe that Liz really is an idiot. Either that or those two are closer then they seem to be None of my business, at least Seto's finally got a girl." Said Anzu casually. Joey looked over.

"Seto could never get a girl, even if he paid her! She's just workin' for him to find where Mokuba went. Poor kid, being forced to stay with that sleeze ball. To think my sister ever liked the jackass." Joey gave a yawn; he was indeed tired this morning. "Ya know, I wish that it was Kaiba who got killed instead of Otogi. At least the dice-wielder wasn't as much as a jerk as Seto was; though he did seem quite egotistic. And either way, the day that Seto ever got a girl would be the apocalypse! And as we all know, the world ain't gonna end any time soon." How wrong he was.

Time: 12:00 PM

Date: October 13th, 2008

Location: Somewhere in Egypt

Atop a pyramid, there was a flattened top area with a slight dip in the very center that was coated with gold leaf. A single grain of sand was in the bowl-ish thing, keeping sun from fully reflecting off the surface. A gust of strong wind came by, at just the right angle, as the single grain went flying out. The light of the mid-day sun was positioned right above the temple, shining in through the gold leaf, refracted and magnified. 

_SNAP!_ A rope that was in the path of the light had been burnt to ashes and snapped, letting a large stone drop. The stone itself was rounded, and began to roll down a twisted track far underground, to where temperatures were cooler. The stone itself hit a switch, which sent a gigantic hourglass spinning over to the other side. Sand began to slowly tick out of it, down into the lower half. The lower half could disconnect from the upper, and looked as if it would fall into the blackness below all the machines. For what purpose, who knew?

Time: 4:00 PM

Location: The Drakken Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Hm, I got a letter from my cousin Since when did Liz ever send letters. Curious, very curious." Drakken Jackal went through his mail, arriving home from work. At the old, old age of 22 he was long out of high school and collage, but only a year older then his fiancé Tiriana. He worked as a physic due to the odd abilities he possessed; though that was only a part time. The other job he worked was as a hacker, a white-hat hacker who was hired by companies to test their software for holes by hacking it. He had astounding abilities, able to visualize code in his head and how it would work.

Setting down a pile of bills on the table, he picked up the letter from Liz and sat down at the table. Using his switchblade to open the letter, he unfolded the crumpled paper. His younger cousin was never very good at folding letters right, just getting frustrated and cramming the paper into the letters. Odd, she was so good at origami but no good at letter folding, very curious indeed.

_Dear Drakken, October 10__th__, 2008_

_I know ya think it's odd that I'm writing a letter, I usually call or something of the sort. But right now I don't trust the phone lines, I'm not shure if Seto has then tapped or what. Right now, I have astounding news. I found another potential; he [Seto] has the abilities! The book should be arriving soon, I just hope he can control it better then you could. Yugi and co. completely failed, which is the main reason I'm here. Soon the Ocularis will be built, and everything shall go into action! I think that either Seto or Mokuba will be good for the 13__th__, ghost, they both have the energies, though Seto seems more like the self-sacrificing type. Too bad he has to die, he is kinda cute *wink*. Hell, had the rewards not been what they're gonna be, and for the reason I'm doing this, I would never have gotten into this at all. Well, don't worry, things will be right soon enough. But think, eternal wealth! That's what the god/demon thing said, wasn't it? I just hope that these divine energies' that flow within me don't get all screwed up by PMS, I'd hate to try to operate the book and then just have it backfire on me cuz I'm so pissed off due to hormones. Stupid cycle. Well, soon enough that won't matter. This better not be a rip, or else I'll be dead beyond dead. _

_Seto's trying to figure out why I seem to be taking so long with the case, I don't think the Well, I can't find any info and am running in circles!' excuse will work for much longer. He's pretty smart; he'll figure it out soon enough. But if all goes as plans, it won't matter in the least. Last night, he almost got to the bottom of things; I cut it dangerously close. But don't worry, I got the file erased when he was asleep. I might have been up as late as he might, but I got smart and took a nap earlier. Keep searching for another 13__th__, the more options the better. And I think I've become to attached too attached to this particular baka-boy to let him go to some machine, I think ya know what I mean *laugh*. _

_Any word from Michael? We all know he'll blab the entire case to Seto if I bring him here, and I can't risk Seto finding a letter from my dead' brother. How else do ya think I'm getting all the money from this one case. Geez, is Seto a SAP! Sad stories, if ya pull the right strings he'll be a blob of JELL-O! I don't know what it is with him; he's so protective of his brother. Doesn't he know that the gods won't let him be killed? Not yet, at least. We have at least a month, I guess. He is the gods' only link into the mortal realm, he's needed. Also, cuz he can see the _lemures_ without the goggles. But I don't know what the ancients will do to him once they find out he can't use the tome nor summon them to life. Meep *cowers*. _

_Well, talk to ya l8r!_

_~ Dragonlady, rider of the queen of beasts and soon to be ruler of the universe_

_(Though you can call me just Liz!)_

Drakken gave a slight laugh; Seto was so easily manipulated, just as he guessed. Leaning back in his chair, he realized he had a new e-mail. It was from Tiriana, and it was labeled as urgent'. Finding nothing better to do, he clicked it open, and was given quite a shock. It was an image, an article from the Domino Times, from 1998.

**_DEVISTATING FIRE IN DOMINO LEAVES FAMILY OF FOUR HOMELESS, THREE INJURED, ONE CRITICALLY!_**

_Yamagi family left without a home after a devastating fire took their small two-story home in eastern Domino. 6 year old Seto Yamagi woke up to the smell of smoke at 2 AM on October 14__th__, and found intense heat radiating from his floor. The flames were thought to be started by an electrical problem in the basement, along with a leaky water pipe in the boiler. The combination of water and electricity caused flash-flames to erupt up through pipes and set the small wooden house ablaze. Mokuba Yamagi, at age 2 was the only one remaining in-injured by the blaze, Seto and father both escaped with minor injuries. The mother, Mrs. Yamagi remains in critical condition at Domino Public Hospital, clinging to life by a thread. The situation looks dire for the family of four._

_I found this article whilst looking through the archives, I think it might interest you. You had said your cousin was investigating the disappearance of Mokuba Kaiba, so I thought you might want to send this to her. It might help, considering that I think I might also have uncovered the fourth ghost that the demon was speaking of. The withered lover, I think it was Seto's mom who the demon captured for that sign. DON'T TELL SETO and DON'T LET YOUR COUSIN TELL SETO, either. We can't let him know, yet. We don't know for shure if we want him to be the 13__th__. But if this is who indeed the demon said he captured, we might have a slight problem, and I'll talk to ya later!_

_~ Tiriana_

Drakken gave a sigh; it was odd how his fiancé had an associate who was also working on the same case her cousin was. Giving up on that train of thought, Drakken entered his kitchen to get some coffee. He found the machine empty of the caffeine beans, and realized he hadn't been shopping in at least a week. Grabbing his jacket, he walked back outside, to go get some food so he wouldn't starve in his own house. Scolding Tiriana for not eating and then not having any food in his own home was kinda idiotic, don't ya think?

Time: 4:30 PM

Location: The Kaiba Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Can you believe drama went into overtime for so long? I didn't think they'd ever find anyone to play those parts in the play. Poor Joey, he had to play a cat. He'd be much better suited for a mutt." Spoke Liz, as Seto gave a chuckle.

"I think the puppy needs a new name, calling him a mutt is an insult to dogs worldwide." Said Seto sarcastically. Liz gave a snort, throwing her stuff onto one of the couches. She went over to the odd book.

"Oh, yay! Now I get to see the odd book!" She went to pick it up and

_FLASH!_ Memories, visions, of death, decay, killing, blood, gods rising from impossible places, gates to nowhere, runes, destruction and darkness flashed through her head. She instantly yanked her hand back in shock and due to instinct.

"What the fucking hell, Drakken, ya trying to kill me?!?" She yelled to no one in particular. Seto blinked a few times.

"What, is the great Liz defeated by a puny book?" Seto teased. Liz scoffed at him. "And isn't Drakken your cousin, how is he connected to this book?" Questioned Seto, slightly confused.

"Uh" The detective girl swiftly realized her error. "Yeah, he is my cousin. He just has a way with things, being a physic and all, I thought he made me freak out when I touched the book or something. I guess he had no connection." Seto merely shook his head. Liz hesitantly went for the book again, but this time found no ill effects on contact with the object.

"So what was it before?" Questioned the CEO, curious on what made the girl freak out on contact with the surface like she did a few seconds ago. "What, did touching that freakish book send you into a spasm?" He asked, sarcastically. Liz glared.

"It's not funny, ya know. Listen, why don't YOU try picking up the book, Mr. All-high-and-mighty!" Liz snapped back. The elder Kaiba brother laughed at such an easy task. Just pick up a book, nothing difficult about that, right?

"Fine, I will." Said Seto for the effect, then picked up the book by the spine, a seemingly simple task. Too bad it wasn't that easy.

_FLASH!_ The same memories flooded through his head, torment, destruction, ancients, physically impossible things, runes, blood, and death. Not very nice, the same things that Liz saw, to be exact. Seto promptly dropped the book; it fell to the floor with little noise. The detective folded her arms, smirking.

"See? Freakish, eh? Now" She picked up the book again, this time with not trouble. Looking through the pages, she seemed astounded. "Holy flying shit balls I can read this gobbledy-gook!" She exclaimed. It wasn't English, not in the least. Couldn't be, the symbols were wrong. But somehow, she could read it.

"True, true. No explanation, though. Nothing logical, at least." Remarked Seto, finding that after contact with the book, he could indeed read the odd text too. "So now what?" He questioned.

"I gotta call someone" Liz said, then dashed off to the phone to alert Drakken, her cousin of her find. No time for letters now! She swiftly dialed the number into the phone, and waited for her cousin to pick up. "Hello, Drakken, are ya there? Shit, answering machine Well, I'll call ya later, I got big news!" She hang up the phone, Seto was long upstairs and didn't question his "friend's" odd behivour.

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Wheeler Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Finally" Said Joey, with a sigh of relief. After countless minutes of fiddling with the childproof cap of the sedative tablet bottle, he pried the thing open. If he had just read the instructions, however, the exertion of pure brute strength wasn't needed. The blue gel-capsules rolled around the counter, a few had spilled once the bottle opened. Joey grabbed the ones that fell on the table, and went to get a glass of water.

_FOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSS _The water ran cold and clear into the glass, as Joey looked down into the watery depths. Just see-thru. Downing about five pills, the boy took a swallow of water to wash down the drugs, then headed upstairs. He barely made it to the bed before collapsing into it, drop-dead asleep. A deeper sleep, near death, was so deep the sleep, induced by drugs.

Time: 8:30

Location: The Ryuu Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"C'mon, pick up Drakken. This is important!" Tiriana swore a few times, she had gotten into a spat with Drakken recently and now they weren't on talking terms. Swearing a few more times she hung up the phone, and went back to her computer. The moment she put the phone down and left more then a foot away

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIING!_ The phone was ringing like it was going to tear itself out of the wall. Tiriana moaned, and picked it up.

"Hello, Ryuu residence, how may I help you?" The detective questioned dully. It was Drakken on the phone, no surprise.

"Hey, Tira, listen, I'm sorry bout before. I just woke up from a nap; sorry I didn't pick up earlier if you had called. Listen, I got new news from my cousin, something bout the tome. She says she found a potential with power. Seto might very well become the 13th ghost! I'll talk later, gotta go!" Before Tiriana could even say hello he hung up. Giving a sigh, she went back to her computer, and began to type. Soon enough, she remembered the floppy she had put down earlier.

"What the hell?" Forgetting that she indeed made the disk herself, she popped it into the computer and scanned it. No viruses in sight, finding that as a fact, she clicked it open. It was just an image, blueprints of sort. There were a few more images. One was a collage of all the murders of the people; the other was a collection of 12 signs, and three runes. Odd, in truth. 

"Holy software, Batman!" She exclaimed, and flipped through the other images. More of similar or the same. Someone had way too much time on their hands, obviously was the answer to this. Saving only one image, the one of a pyramid in Egypt, she decided to look it up later, but first she had to finish the case she was working on right now 

Time: 9:00 PM

Location: The Kaiba Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"Ya know, coffee stunts your growth. Not like that'll ever matter" Remarked Liz, as Seto poured himself his fifth glass of extra strength coffee. Seto ignored her, and went back to working at his laptop. "What DO you do all day on that, anyway? It's only a machine, ya dun need to treat it like your little brother or something, it won't be stolen." Seto suddenly stopped typing. "Shouldn't a said that, right?" Liz backed out of the room before Seto could do anything.

"Mokuba" He whispered, looking off into the distance. "I should have saved you, I was supposed to be there for you. I failed." Seto had gone into one of his depression spats again; CEO distemperment as Liz sometimes labeled it. She needed a Latin name or something like it for that.

"Well, I'll be reading the book!" Exclaimed Liz, then dashed all the way upstairs. She had the tome in her arms. Plopping down on her bed, she began to read anxiously, cautious and wary about what the book could do. After seeing it's earlier performance, she didn't quite trust it.

"Aritek, Ulyaoth, Tier" She muttered from the writing on the page. Suddenly, a dog/scorpion creature was summoned' up from seemingly nowhere. It glowed for a few moments, and three rings of fire came from it. A pencil on the floor disappeared upon its collapse; it promptly fell down and died.

"SETO!" She yelled, leaving the book and dashing down stairs. "SETO SETO SETO SETO!" She yelled, worried. "Seto, the book did something weird!" She complained. Seto shook his head sadly, and ignored her.

"That is why I drink coffee, so I don't start to hallucinate later at night." Spoke the CEO bluntly and without much emotion. "Tell me in the morning, whatever it is"

"Fine, fine! But ya gotta LISTEN then!" Liz then dashed back upstairs, and that was the end of that.

Time: 10:15 PM

Location: The Drakken Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

Picking up a pencil and paper, Drakken began to scribble a letter on a piece of lined loose-leaf. It was odd, that he was writing a letter instead of just e-mailing, but he had to write and send this now, but have some delay time whilst the mail delivered.

_Dear Little Cousin,_

_I am glad to hear that Seto would work for the 13__th__ ghost. As of now, he is our only option, though I have my suspicions that Joey would work as well, considering that Mai has indeed become the sixth ghost. One of Otogi's fangirls or cheerleaders might suffice, but they love him not in true love, but in the sense of a silly high school crush. Simply to state, Seto is most likely our best option. First we find a 13__th__ spirit, THEN you find yourself a boyfriend. Remember what the demon said, don't be come too attached to anyone, you never know when they might just be gone for good. _

_As of other news, my fiancé sent me an interesting article. It was about the fire in Domino, you remember? The one where Seto's birth mom got killed, you remember, she arrived in critical condition and died within hours. I think that was who the person was talking about when they mentioned the fourth ghost. Giving Seto the added reason to become the 13__th__, in an attempt to save' her from this fate. Poor ignorant fool_

_Well anyways, you're probably thinking it's odd that I am sending a letter, not an e-mail, or a call. Cuz I am thinking this now and want to send it out now, but want the delay of mail delivery so it won't get to you as fast, in case new things arise. Don't worry, I doubt Seto will be going through your mail and taking your cell phone bill' for closer cross-examination. Hehe _

_On other topics, soon we'll need to get Seto closer to the Ocularis. I'm not shure where they put the trigger device, but I DO know that the machine itself is on the outskirts of Domino, in a densely forested and near unpopulated area. The demon says that there might be three others there, trying to work against us. It'll be our duty to make short work of them. I just hope that things don't turn out how I think they will I have a bad feeling about this. And my bad feelings usually turn out to be right _

_I have no word from Michael, but from last I heard of him he's happy back in America. Right now, he's in NY again. Seems to love that city, your little bro. We just gotta make shure he DOES NOT ever run into Seto, or things won't end well. Back in America, he said he found a potential, until later on he found out the person couldn't control the tome. So much for other options on the 13__th__. Well, as of now Seto's our only go, so KEEP HIM there and I'll contact you later with the exact address. Probably tell him that he had some distant relative who he inherited it from, or he won it in a contest, or some other bullshit like that. Just DON'T tell him that Mokuba is there, that'll mess things up._

_Talk to ya l8r!_

_~ Drakken Jackal_

Folding up the finished letter, Drakken neatly put it into an envelope. Luckily, unlike his cousin he could fold and wrap letters without making them into abominable letter monsters. Walking down a few stairs and out of the apartment building, he dropped it into the nearest mailbox, going back inside and upstairs to his cozy home. 

"Geez it's cold outside who turned down the heat?" He questioned to the atmosphere, more or less, as he noticed the fact that the temperature was at an odd low of 49. Right now it should be somewhere in the sixties! It was a little more then 10 degrees cooler then normal, he wondered if it had anything to do with the Ocularis. Only time will tell.

Time: 11:20 PM

Location: Unknown

Date: October 13th, 2008

"When will you let me go?" Questioned the younger Kaiba sibling, to a mirror. Well, not actually a mirror, but a looking glass into another realm. There was a demon there facing him in the portal, glaring with blood-red eyes.

"Pathetic human. Don't you understand, we must wait until your brother arrives, him and his little buddy. The detective hasn't gotten word from her cousin as of yet, but once she does, I shall contact her with news to bring him here. Then, your brother will have the honor of becoming the 13th ghost! Don't worry, you'll still be alive. Until later."

"I will NOT let Seto come here to be killed!" Mokuba yelled at the demon. Pounding on the glass in a vain attempt to hurt the beast, he was thrown into the glass wall behind him.

"SILENCE!" Yelled the creature behind the portal. "It matters not what YOU want what matters is what I wish and what the gods wish. Ulyaoth thinks we're helping him so he can destroy Chattur'gha. Chattur'gha thinks we're helping him so he can destroy Xel'lototh. And Xel'lototh thinks we're helping him so he can destroy Ulyaoth! And I bet upon my summoning that Mantorok is just watching, laughing at the antics of the ancients and how easily manipulated they are, by me, the great Thralkarshash!" With that, the room around Mokuba erupted into black flames. Yet, they did not burn nor give off heat.

"Why? Why do you want to summon the Ocularis Infernum? Why build the apocalypse machine?" Questioned the boy, dire for answers. But instead of a reply, the image in the mirror shifted to that of a New World. A dark, dismal world where demons flew about freely, ancients could feed on human flesh at will, and the mortals ruled their own colonies like tyrants, without any orders to take from anyone. A perfect world for some, a nightmare for others.

"For this. With the Ocularis opened, we can see the past, the present, and the future. We can see how the demons were sealed away, and how to open the gates to our realm once more! The ancients can have their fun, letting their guardians roam freely. But soon enough they will take care of themselves kill one another. The mortals are already doomed, to self-destruction by their wars and spats; they fail to see the greater enemy. A pity, in truth. Soon enough, however, I shall rule! That, and cockroaches will overrun the earth once everyone is destroyed because they can survive anything But that's besides the point!" With that, the image disappeared. "Soon, all shall be MINE!" The fires around Mokuba flared up, as he winced trying to cover himself from the fire. When the flames and embers cleared, the demon was absent from the mirror. Only Mokuba himself was here, in the basement of this odd machine/house. Him, and the 12 ghosts of the Ocularis, the 12 signs of the Black Zodiac.

Time: 11:59 PM

Location: The Kaiba Residence

Date: October 13th, 2008

"SETO! Ya gotta get to bed now!" Liz whined. Seto had come downstairs a little earlier, and was zealously working away at his laptop. It was amazing the thing hadn't come apart at the seams, considering the abuse it took from Seto's constant poundings on the keys.

"No, there's work to be done— " Before he could finish, Liz had the laptop and had closed it and turned it off.

"Must I do this EVERY TIME? Now, BED!" She yelled, pointing upstairs. Seto not wanting to have her yell anymore (as it was giving him a headache) nodded and walked upstairs. Liz re-booted the laptop, and swiftly erased all the work Seto had done considering the case. Couldn't have him finding out anything new, now could she?

Weird, this chapter was 13 pages. How ironic Well, this was over 6000 words, so I'm happy as of now. See ya'll, the next chapter will be up in about a week or two, depending when I get inspiration for it. See ya'll! One more thing – It might seem odd, that I'm revealing Liz and Drakken and Tiriana as bad guys' this early on, but that's because they start trying to get Seto to the Ocularis. But later on they become on the better side, though here there isn't any clear good OR bad. It's all just gray, no black and white. Or at least that's how I hope it'll come out. Ja`ne!

Notes - 

(1) Why does everything take place in '08? Well, I'm not telling!

(2) I know it would usually be impossible but take into consideration that Otogi is 16 or 15 and owns his own company and game, Seto's 16 and owns his own company AND looks after his younger brother, and Yugi's 15 and is saving the world. So just let this be, I know it's a little far-fetched but I need Liz to attend Seto's school but still be a detective... Ok?

Now, REVIEW!

~ Liz


End file.
